Born on the Fourth of July Review

     Born on the Fourth of July is the true, disturbing story of Ron Kovic, a Vietnam veteran. There are aspects of the film that were both interesting, disturbing, and also a little unlikable. Tom Cruise portrayed him the in the film.  

The film begins with Ron’s childhood. He is a Fourth of July baby, and every birthday, his family goes to the parade that the town holds. He watched the shell shocked Veterans from previous wars march through, and just knew he wanted to be a soldier too. Ron lived in a stereotypical small-town America. The town is centered around sports and religion, both of which his family feels very strongly about. Ron is the model child, due to his numerous athletics.

     His mother, portrayed by Caroline Kava, was a zealous woman, who believed in Jesus and war. She pushed Ron to his limits, and was also very ashamed of his behaviour when he returned home. Ron’s father (Raymond J. Barry) was not as intense as his wife, and understood Ron’s plight more, since he served in World War II himself. 

     After Ron is recruited, he goes to Vietnam, which the movie does not spend a lot of time portraying. It only shows what truly damages Ron, both physically and psychologically. He lays siege to a town of innocent people, where only a crying baby is left. He then shoots an American soldier running for safety. After this, Ron is shot in the foot and then the back, effectively paralyzing him from the waist down for the remainder of his life. 

     The most disturbing and unlikable part of the film came next, in which the harsh conditions of the hospital are shown. The men are dehumanized, and conditions are disgusting and horrible. Though accurate, and necessary for people to understand, it was still a disturbing, scarring thing to see. 

     The aftermath of Ron’s experience in Vietnam takes up the rest of the film as he goes from a man who still believes in the mission to an alcoholic with nothing left to lose. It is only towards almost the end of the film where Ron regains mental stability and dedicates his life to fighting against the war that changed his life. 

Though a touching and true story, it is definitely not something that I would watch again. Cruise did a good job in portraying Ron, though he did get slightly annoying, though it may just have been him embracing his character. Caroline Kava did a fantastic job in portraying a mother, an American, and a Christian. Her disturbing looks and feelings showed just how wacky some people were, and still are, in America. Kyra Sedgwick, who played Ron’s love interest Donna also delivered a solid performance as she led Ron to an anti-war path. 

     This film was produced and co-written by Oliver Stone, a Vietnam veteran. Many of the choices he made in the film affected the mood and feeling of the viewers, connecting them to what was happening on screen.

     For example, the veterans’ hospital was dark throughout Ron’s experience there. It was a good reflection of the feeling and mood of the soldiers, as well as the workers there. The workers were not ashamed or afraid to tell the soldiers that no one cared that they were there, and they sacrificed their bodies and minds for nothing. The contrast that he made evident in the Fourth of July parades in Ron’s hometown also made a deep impact on the viewer. The irony of wanting to be the soldier who flinched from the loud noises to becoming one himself, becoming speechless after hearing a baby’s cry that reminded him of the one in Vietnam, crying in its dead mother’s arms. Stone did a great job in getting his anti-war message across through Ron’s story. 

     Physical relations also played a large part, because Ron is seen as a much more confident individual when he has working legs. However, after he is wheelchair bound, he loses a lot of the passion that he had a soldier and a boy. He also puts himself in a worse position by disrespecting his body. He drinks himself into a stupor, and allows no one to try and raise him up. It takes Ron a long time to get better, but paints an accurate picture of what men returning from Vietnam would have been like. 

     While an interesting movie, Born on the Fourth of July is definitely not one I would watch again. The amount of disturbing images, violence and depressing situations does not make it one that I would run back to watch. Yet it is still something that people should see. Post traumatic stress is still stigmatized, and to see how men returning from war were treated in the past is something that people need to understand, so that it does not get repeated. This film is definitely not one that I would run back to watch again in the near future, or even the distant for that matter. However, due to the need to understand the horrors of what occurred in, and after Vietnam, I give this film a 7/10.